January: New Beginnings

New Year, new thinking

By Farmer Arzeena

Ah January, the month of new beginnings and new resolutions. If a cleaner diet is high up on your list of to-dos, here’s a quick tip to help cut through the plethora of diet advice. Cook from scratch for yourself and your family. The more your take back control of what goes into your body, the fewer “nasties” that will enter it.

But doesn’t our government protect our food system? In a short, no they do not. Basically, Health Canada approves whatever the USDA does and the USDA has a revolving door between itself and companies like Monsanto and Bayer. So, it’s really up to you to make informed choices.

And it certainly is possible. Eliminating herbicides, insecticides, genetically engineered (GE) organisms and antibiotics from your food supply can make a huge difference in how you and your family feel after a meal. More and more, we are finding that the gut microbiome, is critical for helping to not only your digest food, but also produce important brain hormones like serotonin.

When this internal ecosystem is out of balance because of poor diet or eating foods laced with antibiotics, all kinds of reactions can happen from irritable bowel syndrome to eczema to even depression. Probably the biggest culprit for is the prevalence of glyphosate, also known as Roundup. This herbicide is in large-scale wheat, barley & oat farms as well as in GMO crops like canola, feed corn, and soybeans.

So how do you eat cleaner? Choose whole fruits and vegetables and wherever possible, purchase organic. In Canada, there is no other labeling system other than certified organic that can ensure food isn’t grown without pesticides or antibiotics. Luckily, in the Comox Valley, there a number of certified organic vegetable, chicken and beef farmers. Check them out at the Farmer’s Market. Get to know your grower. They’re your first line of defense for a healthier you.

If you want to make a commitment to local organic food all summer, consider joining our weekly veggie box program through our CSA . For more info click here!